Global Warming


This Article started out because of a letter published on an email list I belong to:

I saw a movie last night that I think every one should take the time to view.  "An Inconvenient Truth" is a film that no one should miss.  I don't care what your politics is, the survival of this planet is something we all should be concerned with.  If we continue with the unbridled consumption of natural resources the world as we know it is going to change drastically.  I know the environment is not a popular subject but it is one that should be on the minds of all of us.  Any one remember the book "A Silent Spring" ?  It is because of this book that DDT is no longer a commonly used insecticide.  I think we need to wake up to the problems created by the unchecked consumption of petroleum products.  It is not an easy thing to do because we all have been spoiled and have become accustomed to the convenience of the modern world.  It is not an unachievable goal to think that we can cut back on consumption and put in place controls that will lesson the impact of global warming.  Little things like recycling and reducing the speed at which we travel down the highway can have a positive effect.  Lets all think about this today


I replied:
The Inconvenient Truth of Global Warming is that the polar ice caps are melting - on Mars.  If you do not believe, check the facts at the JPL.  Do you think our pollution is causing warming on mars, or is it the fact that those pesky martian factories are working overtime?  Propaganda is Propaganda, it can even be beautiful, ask Leni Riefenstahl.

“The world population in 1850 was 1,262,000,000. The world population in 2005 was 6,453,628,000.”
World Population wikipedia

“The period of time covered by the Industrial Revolution varies with different historians. Eric Hobsbawm held that it 'broke out' in the 1780s and wasn't fully felt until the 1830s or 1840s[2], while T.S. Ashton held that it occurred roughly between 1760 and 1830 (in effect the reigns of George III, The Regency, and George IV)[3].”
Industrial Revolution wikipedia


“The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of cooling occuring after a warmer era known as the Medieval climate optimum. Climatologists and historians find it difficult to agree on either the start or end dates of this period. Some confine the Little Ice Age to 1550-1850, lasting approximately from the 14th to the mid-19th centuries while others prefer a span from the 13th to 17th centuries. It is generally agreed that there were three minima, beginning about 1650, about 1770, and 1850, each separated by slight warming intervals.”
Little Ice Age wikipedia

It is probably just serendipity but there is a congruence between the end of the little ice age and the begining of the industrial revolution. The Goreans see no problem between these serendipitous events. The fact that the world entered into a natural warming period is totally discounted by them when trying to set policy because it must be mans fault that the planetary system is experiencing global Warming. Or, maybe it is the fault of those sneaky Martians, “Duck Dodgers how we need you now!”

I am relatively sure that most of you realize that I am skeptical of the so called science related to global warming.

Often my skepticism is met with the argument, that “ we can't just stand around doing nothing!”

It is a powerful emotional argument.

Let me propose a simple way to test to the argument.

1. We assume that global warming is real.

2. We assume global warming is the result of human activity.

3. We assume that the cause is human and cow farts.
(not too great a stretch, as cow farts are a major source of green house gasses)

then we jump a little stretch
4. We assume that science demonstrates that the world wide populations of population of humanity and cattle must be reduced to the 1850 levels to reverse the threat.


What do you do then?

I am not arguing an absurdity, but rather asking you to look at how far your belief in Government action goes?

I for one question ideas that allow the government to take our property, and drive us into poverty to satisfy a political theory based in serendipity.